Draft gear for railway cars



Nov. 17, 1931. E. c.- JOHNSON DRAFT GEAR FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed Oct. 18,1927 2 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR Sci-win. C. Jhnsan.

Nov. 17, 1931. E. c. JOHNSON DRAFT GEAR FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed Oct. 18.1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Patented Nov. 17, 1931 .UNITEDMSTAQTESmam Mme;

EDWIN 0. V JorfnsoN, 011' DENVER, COLOR-ADO 1 DRAFT GEAR FOR RAILWAYCARS Application filed October is, 1927. Seria1No.226,931.

vide a hydraulic draft gear which is COIIlplete in itself foreachindividual car and requires no outside connections for its operationthroughout the length of the train of which the car is a part.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in theconstruction and arrangement of elements and parts hereinafter to bedescribed in detail and shown in their preferred forms in theaccompanying drawings.

In the drawings in the several views of which like parts have beensimilarly designated,

Figure 1 represents a fragmentaryplan' view of the draft system in itsoperative position on a railway car,

Figure 2, a section along the line 2-2, Figure 1,

Figure 3, an enlarged sectional elevation of one of the reservoirscomprised in the system, 7

Figure 4, a cross section taken on the line 44, Figure 3,

Figure 5, a sectional plan view, showing in elevation, one of thepressure cylinders employed in the system,

Figure 6, a longitudinal section of the cylinder taken in the planesindicated by the line 66 in Figure 5, s

Figure 7, an end view of the cylinder, looking in the direction of thearrow across the line 77, Figure 6,

Figure 8, a cross section of the cylinder on the line 88, Figure 6, and

Figure 9, a plan view similar to Figure 1, showing a modification in thearrangement of the parts comprised in the invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the reference numeral 5designates the cover plate below the floor of a railway car, 6

thecentersills of the car, and 7 the drawbars at the ends of the same.All of these parts are of conventional arrangement and construction.

Fastened between the sills through the me dium of suitable draft lugs 8and carrier irons 9, and located adjacent the ends of the car andinaxial' alinement with the drawheads, arepressure cylinders 10. Pistons12 fitted for reciprocation in the cylinders are fas tened at the endsof the rods '13 which pass through stufling boxes 14 at the outer endsof the cylinders; 7 The rods are provided with grooved heads 15 fortheir connection with the ends of the drawbars by the usual pivot joints16. Coiled springs- 17 placed at opposite sides of the piston in eachcylinder yieldingly resist its movement in both directions. Fastenedbetween the sills of the car, bymeans of straps 18 approximatelyintermediate of'the two N cylinders are two reservoirs 19 and 20ieachprovided with a filler opening normally closed by means of a screw plug21and providing equalizing means. j Y

The reservoir 20 isconnected at its end with the spaces of the twocylinders at the sides of the pistons, outermost with relation to theends of-the car, by means of pipes 22 and 23, and similar conduits 24and 25 connect the ends of the other reservoir 19, with the spaces ofthe cylinders at the opposite sides of their pistons. 1

The cylinders, the pipes and the lower portions of the reservoirs arefilled with a liquid such as glycerineor oil, indicated at 26, leavingin the upper portions of the reservoirs, air spaces designated in Figure3 by the numeral 27 In the operation of the system, a pull exerted atone of the drawbars will result in a corresponding outward movement ofthe other draw bar owing to its connection with the drawbar of the nextfollowing car. The

result that the liquid in the cylinders is partially expelled and forcedthrough the pipes 22 and 23 into the reservoir 20.

The liquid entering the reservoir 20 at opposite ends compresses the airin the upper portion thereof and the stresses and strains due to themovement of the drawbars are in consequence absorbed by the fluid andevenly distributed and equalized at both ends of the car and throughoutthe length of a train -w1th the cylinders at one side of their of whichthe car is a part.

A similar result is obtained when a draw bar is subjected to an impactwhich causes it to move inwardly. The impact on one of the draw barswill result in a corresponding motion of the other draw bar owing to itsconnection with the next following car, the pistons in the two cylindersare in consequence moved inwardly toward the center of the car, and theliquid in the cylinders is forced through the pipes 24 and 25 into thereservoir 19 where it compresses the air in the upper portion thereofand thereby absorbs and equalizes the shocks due to the impacts on thedraw bars.

"In the modified construction illustrated in Figure 9, butione reservoir28 is used, in connect-ion with the four pipes leading to the twocylinders, it being evident that this one reservoir may performthefunctions of the two separate reservoirs of the first described formof the invention provided that the openings connecting with the pipesare suflicient- 1y small to restrict the outflow of liquid through onesetof pipes upon the admission of liquid to the reservoir through thepipes of the other set.

()ther modifications and changes in the construction and arrangement ofthe various elements comprised in the system may be resorted to withinthe scope of the invention as defined in the hereunto appended claims.

It will be seen that by the use of the invention, my draft gear may beapplied to railway cars irrespective of their lengths, and that in thisrespect the invention is of advantage over draft gears at present inuse, in which the draw bars at opposite ends of the car, are connectedby mechanical equalizing contrivances.

The springs in the cylinders aid in returning the pistons to theirnormal neutral position in their respective cylinders. The springs alsopermit of using the draw gears without the fluid resistance in case byleakage or other causes, the hydraulic system is incapacitated. Thesprings have, otherwise, no important function in the operation of thesystem and may be dispensed with if desired.

While it is preferred to use a liquid such as glycerine or oil in thesystem, in addition to the bodies of air in the reservoirs, air alqnemay be employed with satisfactory resu ts.

The cylinders are each provided with drain-openings normally closed byplugs.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is 1. A draft gear for railway cars comprising incombination with draw bars at opposite ends of a car, cylinders on thecar, pistons in the cylinders, connected with the draw bars, a reservoirin communication 1stons, a reservoir in communication with the cylindersat theopposite side of their pistons and fluid bodies in the cylinders.

2. A draft gear for railway cars comprising in combination with drawbars at opposite ends of a car cylinders on the car, pistons in thecylinders connected with the draw bars, means connecting respective endsof the cylinders with each other, and oleic liquid in said means.

In testimony whereof I have affixecl my signature.

' EDWIN C. JOHNSON.

